News

Bishops welcome "with great joy" news that Pope John Paul II will be beatified

14/01/2011 9:00 am

"The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales welcome with great joy the news that the Venerable Servant of God, Pope John Paul II will be beatified by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, in May this year.

"The choice of the First Sunday after Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, for the Beatification ceremony in Rome has much significance. Pope John Paul II put Divine Mercy at the centre of his spiritual life, his apostolic testimony and his teaching. It was also on the eve of this Sunday in 2005 that he surrendered his soul to the infinite mercy of his Lord and Saviour."